and a view from across the pond.

Flying straight is the hardest thing to do that's why we leave it until
last when teaching it. Its much easier to turn.
Learning on a winch helps this process because the launch bit is over in
30 seconds and initially the instructor is doing most of it.

Then the student can experience free flight and see how the glider really
handles without having a sweaty, stressful workout that seems to last an
eternity before you can fly the glider properly. In short a new student
will be mentally (and maybe physically) exhausted before he starts his
lesson.

So you don't have several minutes of trying to fly straight and, has been
pointed out, trying to fly in formation behind a noisy, blustery tug and
furthermore where the tow combination is going to be affected by thermals
activity too. Sure its difficult. Very difficult and different from
normal flight. But just like riding a bike, which as a child you must
have thought was impossible science, magic even, it suddenly clicked, you
got more and more confident and then you wondered what all the fuss was
about.

The same will happen with flying straight in free flight.

I don't fly aerotows much and at the start of season check flights I have
similar thoughts to you. But a rope break, provided you have thought about
what you are going to do (landing options, height, turn considerations-
Trees!!, other traffic etc) is no big deal. Winching teaches you that in
spades - you have got to think about and plan for all the eventualities
during each stage of the launch before you accept the rope, rather than
react and hope. Your instructor probably hasn't got you thinking about
this yet but he will. You will then feel more in control because you are
involved in the planning of the flight,

You will master it - there are very few who don't. The beauty about
soaring is that it is similarly challenging on multiple levels:
flying in a straight line,
thermalling efficiently,
speed to fly,
choice of route,
searching for lift,
weather,
situation awareness
cross country,
outlandings,
competition
airspace
and for me dealing with a third and fourth language (Dutch and German).

I describe the challenges of gliding to my non-flying friends as 'three
dimension chess' Its always different and challenging whether it is a 5
minutes up, round and down on a winter's day to a huge cross country
flight. Each flight is challenging and fun..because you have to think
about it all the time. Just like a car your controlling skills will
become automatic but unlike a car there are no roads, street signs and GPS
navigator telling you the route to take, when to turn, when to speed up,
slow down - you have got to think all the time. Brilliant.

It must be an apt and enticing description because a German colleague at
work, who is a naval maritime-strike Tornado pilot (well ex now because
the German Navy has given up that capability) has booked a weekend of
flying with me in July!!! He is that determined to ensure he does fly
even though the majority of weekends he commutes back and from Hamburg.

Welcome to the club. You will master it and have a lot of fun doing so.
Good luck.




Gavin
Std Cirrus, CNN now G-SCNN, #173
LSV Viersen, Keiheuvel, Belgium